A1 The New Wave of Intolerance and Extremism in Europe

The rise of populism, extremism and xenophobia is now a constant presence in most of the European countries, fueled by insecurity and the fears brought along by the economic crisis and the new world (dis)order. The respect for human dignity, human rights and diversity - one of the cornerstones of the European Union and one of the dimensions of its soft power projected to the world – is under threat. The session attempts to review the causes of this phenomenon and will discuss the resources that European (civil) societies have to halt and reverse this trend.

Discussant:

Bridget O’Loughlin Coordinator of the No Hate Speech Movement Campaign, Council of Europe (CoE)

Bridget O’Loughlin has been appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe as Campaign Coordinator of the No Hate Speech Movement. Her extensive experience with the Council of Europe in intergovernmental work, legal advice, protocol and administration places her in a key position to coordinate the Campaign – both inside and outside the organisation, working with national campaigns, the online campaign community and partners including other international organisations and the social media.

Florin Feșnic, Researcher with the Center for the Study of Democracy of the "Babeș-Bolyai" University (RO)

Florin Fesnic is a researcher at the Center for the Study of Democracy in the Department of Political Science, „Babes-Bolyai” University, Cluj, Romania. He has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include the study of extreme right-wing parties and the determinants of support for the extreme right, Euroskepticism, democracy and democratization, and the effects of civic education on political culture.

Valeriu Nicolae, ‎Regional Director for Advocacy at World Vision Eastern Europe, Middle East, South Caucasus (RO)

Founder and President of the Policy Center for Roma and Minorities in Bucharest, Nicolae also co-founded the European Roma Policy Coalition. Former senior consultant for the Open Society Institute, he is a human rights activist working for a better society. He takes pride in his most important achievement: establishing the first mentorship and counselling service for ethnic minority children, in the Ferentari ghetto in Romania.

Björn van Roozendaal, Programmes Director with ILGA – Europe (NL)

Before joining the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, Björn van Roozendaal has taken the lead in developing the international advocacy work of COC Netherlands, and as such has worked with various international organisations, including the UN, OSCE, EU and CoE. He is currently a member of the board of trustees of the Planet Romeo Foundation and also serves on the LGBT rights working group of Liberal International. At ILGA-Europe, he is responsible for the overall management of the Programmes Service Area and its team. He oversees the implementation of ILGA-Europe’s strategy on building capacities of the LGBTI movements throughout Europe.

Moderator:

Dovilė Šakalienė, Executive Director of the Human Rights Monitoring Institute (LT)

Dovilė Šakalienė is the executive director at the Human Rights Monitoring Institute and Managing Director of the NGO Programme Lithuania under the EEA Grants. She incorporates her experience in international business consulting and university teaching (Antisocial behaviour; Psychology of Criminal Behaviour) into active human rights work since 2004. Professional and academic interests include human rights (with focus on persons in closed institutions and vulnerable groups), violence in close relations, hate and extremism, ethics and value systems, cognitive information processing, extremely violent behaviour.